Marsha Wood

Pornography, Sexual Coercion and Abuse and Sexting in Young People's Intimate Relationships: A European Study.

New technology has made pornography increasingly accessible to young people, and a growing evidence base has identified a relationship between viewing pornography and violent or abusive behavior in young men. This article reports findings from a large survey of 4,564 young people aged 14 to 17 in five European countries which illuminate the relationship between regular viewing of online pornography, sexual coercion and abuse and the sending and receiving of sexual images and messages, known as “sexting.” In addition to the survey, which was completed in schools, 91 interviews were undertaken with young people who had direct experience of interpersonal violence and abuse in their own relationships. Rates for regularly viewing online pornography were very much higher among boys and most had chosen to watch pornography. Boys’ perpetration of sexual coercion and abuse was significantly associated with regular viewing of online pornography. Viewing online pornography was also associated with a significantly increased probability of having sent sexual images/messages for boys in nearly all countries. In addition, boys who regularly watched online pornography were significantly more likely to hold negative gender attitudes. The qualitative interviews illustrated that, although sexting is normalized and perceived positively by most young people, it has the potential to reproduce sexist features of pornography such as control and humiliation. Sex and relationships education should aim to promote a critical understanding of pornography among young people that recognizes its abusive and gendered values.

Young people's online and face-to-face experiences of interpersonal violence and abuse and their subjective impact across five European countries

Objective: This paper explores the experiences and interconnection of young people’s online and offline (face-to-face) experiences of interpersonal violence and abuse (IPVA) victimization across 5 European countries (i.e., Bulgaria, Cyprus, England, Italy and Norway) and its subjective impact. Evidence on the association between online and offline forms of IPVA in young people’s relationships remains rare and even fewer studies address the subjective impact of these experiences. To our knowledge this is the first study to address these issues within a European context. Method: As part of a wider mixed-method study, a school-based survey was completed with 4,564 young people aged 14–17 across 5 European countries. Results: The findings showed that IPVA through new technologies, especially controlling behavior and surveillance, represented a common aspect of IPVA behaviors across the 5 country samples. There was a substantial intersection between online and offline forms of IPVA. In 3 of the 5 country samples, IPVA prevalence rates were not significantly associated with gender. However, for each form of IPVA studied, the reported subjective impact was gendered: Girls reported greater negative impact than boys. Conclusion: Our research showed that youth programs aimed at preventing or responding to adolescent IPVA need to pay careful attention to how new technologies are used within young people’s relationships and the ways in which these experiences may be differentiated by gender.

Looked after children and young people’s views on what matters to their subjective well-being

Improving the subjective well-being of all children has become a policy goal of national and international governments. To meet this aim, there have been substantial efforts to identify what makes a good life and to find ways to measure it. In the UK, The Children’s Society and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have involved children in identifying domains of subjective well-being and the indicators that measure them. However, very little is known about whether looked after children identify the same domains and indicators important to their well-being. Here we report on findings from 18 focus groups with 140 looked after children and young people on what was important to their well-being. This article reports specifically on the key areas of well-being identified by looked after children. The focus groups were the first stage of a project which has since used the findings to develop and pilot an online well-being survey for looked after children. Although there was agreement with children in the general population about the importance of some domains of well-being (e.g. relationships), looked after children identified others specific to their situation (e.g. having a good understanding of their life history). The article, therefore, argues that there is a need for a specific well-being measure for looked after children.

Independent advocacy services for looked-after children and young people:Evidencing the impact

This article considers the data collection practices of voluntary sector advocacy organisations and the impact that poor recording of referral and outcome information can have on the future of independent advocacy services for looked-after children. The article draws on research conducted by the author exploring the characteristics of young people using voluntary sector advocacy services. The study involved the collection of information from 11 voluntary sector advocacy organisations during the year April 2010 to March 2011 on the young people using their independent advocacy services. While the data provided gives some important information, a lack of systematic recording by organisations meant that we were unable to get a detailed picture of service use and effect. The article argues that a lack of available evidence may hamper the long-term future of this important area of voluntary sector support for looked-after children.